Occupational cancer claims up 5.8-fold in 7 years, approval rate falls to 36%
In short
Industrial accident claims for occupational cancer rose to 1,614 last year, 5.8 times the 279 filed in 2018, and 1,213 were filed in the first half of this year alone, according to data Rep. Park Hae-cheol obtained from the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service. The approval rate fell from 73.5% in 2018 to 44.9% last year and 36.1% in the first half of this year. Lung cancer made up about 70% of applications last year.
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Industrial accident applications for occupational cancer reached 1,614 last year, 5.8 times the 279 filed in 2018, while the approval rate fell from the 70% range to the 40% range over the same period, according to data Rep. Park Hae-cheol of the Democratic Party obtained from the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service. Park sits on the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee. [ 1 , 2 ]
The figures show application numbers rising steadily: 279 in 2018, above 1,000 for the first time in 2023, and 1,614 last year. In the first half of this year alone, 1,213 applications were filed, a pace Yonhap reported would likely push the annual total past last year's by December. [ 1 , 2 ]
Approval rates moved in the opposite direction. The overall rate was 73.5% in 2018, 60.6% in 2023, 54.8% in 2024 and 44.9% last year, then 36.1% in the first half of this year — meaning, as Yonhap put it, that more than half of last year's applicants were not recognised, and this year three in ten are approved. Lung cancer drove much of the volume, rising from 177 applications in 2018 to 1,132 last year, roughly 70% of the total, while its approval rate fell from 91.0% in 2018 to 54.0% last year and 44.9% in the first half of this year. Leukemia approvals fell from 57.1% in 2018 to 42.6% in 2024, 22.7% in 2025 and 17.2% in the first half of this year. [ 1 , 2 ]
Mesothelioma was the exception. Its approval rate stood at 85.3% in 2025 and 85.7% in the first half of this year. Yonhap described mesothelioma as a cancer type whose work-relatedness to asbestos exposure is relatively clearly recognised. [ 1 , 2 ]
Park called for expanding the “principle of presumption”, currently limited to some industries such as semiconductors, to all industries that frequently handle hazardous substances. He said that if conditions such as a certain length of work experience and exposure to harmful factors are met, the case should be presumed to be a work-related accident, easing the burden of proof on workers. [ 1 , 2 ]
Kyunghyang Shinmun published the same data set alongside a photograph caption noting that members of the National School Non-regular Workers' Union and cafeteria workers held a press conference in Seoul last August demanding measures over lung cancer deaths in school cafeterias, indicating that occupational cancer claims have been a subject of organised labour campaigning. [ 1 , 2 ]
Neither document explains why the approval rate has fallen as applications have risen, and both describe this year's full-year total as a projection based on first-half filings rather than a confirmed figure. [ 1 , 2 ]
Why it matters
The figures point to a widening gap between the number of workers seeking compensation for work-related cancer and those the state recognises as occupational accidents, a gap that affects access to industrial accident benefits. Park's proposal to extend the “principle of presumption” beyond sectors such as semiconductors to all industries handling hazardous substances would shift the burden of proof from workers to the insurer if adopted.
Key facts
- Occupational cancer industrial accident applications totalled 1,614 last year, 5.8 times the 279 recorded in 2018. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Applications first exceeded 1,000 in 2023, and 1,213 were filed in the first half of this year, a pace expected to surpass last year's total by year-end. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The overall approval rate fell from 73.5% in 2018 to 60.6% in 2023, 54.8% in 2024, 44.9% last year and 36.1% in the first half of this year. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Lung cancer applications rose from 177 in 2018 to 1,132 last year, about 70% of all occupational cancer applications, while the lung cancer approval rate fell from 91.0% in 2018 to 54.0% last year and 44.9% in the first half of this year. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The leukemia approval rate fell from 57.1% in 2018 to 42.6% in 2024, 22.7% in 2025 and 17.2% in the first half of this year. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Mesothelioma approval rates stayed high, at 85.3% in 2025 and 85.7% in the first half of this year, a cancer type for which the link to asbestos exposure is relatively clearly recognised. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Rep. Park Hae-cheol of the Democratic Party, a member of the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee, said the “principle of presumption” should be extended to all industries handling hazardous substances and that meeting conditions on work history and exposure should lead to a presumption of a work-related accident. [ 1 , 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Occupational cancer industrial accident applications reached 1,614 last year, up 5.8 times from 279 in 2018. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The overall approval rate fell to 44.9% last year and 36.1% in the first half of this year. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Lung cancer accounted for about 70% of applications last year, with 1,132 filings. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The data comes from the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, provided to Rep. Park Hae-cheol of the Democratic Party. [ 1 , 2 ]
Still unclear
- The documents do not explain why the approval rate has fallen as applications have risen. Both documents report the trend but give no cause; no official explanation is cited.
- Whether this year's applications will exceed last year's total is a projection, not a recorded figure. Both documents describe it as an expectation based on the first-half pace.